


Pirate King

by lunaisdizzy



Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Pirate, Angst, Enemies to Lovers, Eventual Fluff, Eventual Smut, Happy Ending, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, M/M, Mentions of Violence, Other idols are pirates too as Jiu Hyuna and Hui okay bye, Rivalry, Slow Burn, side woosan
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-17
Updated: 2019-10-31
Packaged: 2020-06-29 20:55:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,066
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19838347
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lunaisdizzy/pseuds/lunaisdizzy
Summary: The Utopian Sea is gigantic, and there are some islands scattered throughout it. Granted, Aurora is the biggest one, and thus it needs a king. For centuries now, the Utopian Sea has been fraught with pirates, so eventually they started to conquer the islands too. Because of this it made sense that the king of Aurora was a pirate. The king is Hongjoong, an experienced pirate who conquered the island years ago. Citizens were not unhappy about the ruler, but a small pirate crew living in the neighbor island, Crescent,  were willing to do anything to get what they needed from Aurora. The captain is Seonghwa, who hates Hongjoong above anyone or anything else, although they have never met in person… Yet.





	1. Long Journey

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello there! So, I haven't been this inspired in a while and I'm very excited to share this with you. I've been doing some research on pirates and their history even though this whole setting (time and place) is fictional because I found a lot of interesting stuff. Hope you enjoy this short first chapter!

Seonghwa groaned. Light was starting to filter through the curtain of his cabin. They had been out of Crescent for days now and he could barely rest. He was the captain after all. He had been chosen captain for 3 years in a row because everyone trusted him and knew he was a skilled fighter and a very smart man. He had also been chosen as the ruler of Crescent last year because, apart from being a great pirate, he was also a very reasonable person. On land, he was a sensible and fair ruler. Whoever saw him helping his people wouldn’t think he had any hate or anger inside him. But he did. He loved Crescent, and he was fairly fond of his crew too. The problem wasn’t related to them, but to Kim Hongjoong. 

You see, Hongjoong and Seonghwa had never met in person, they only exchanged letters about the deals they needed, but the latter hated Hongjoong with a passion. He was the ruler of the neighbor island, Aurora. The king, to be more specific. He was the only pirate king, and he took pride in that fact, because that gave him power above the rulers of the five main islands of the Utopian Sea. Seonghwa despised arrogant people and Hongjoong’s tone in his letters denoted that he was exactly that, an arrogant, stupid king, what a surprise. Crescent was way smaller than Aurora, so they didn’t have as many resources as the Auroreans did. Seonghwa tried making reasonable agreements with Hongjoong about their needs for food. Crescent was beautiful, but its soil wasn’t very fertile. Seonghwa tried to offer part of the spoils he had recently gathered if the king let the Crescentians use a small part of the land that he knew the king and his people didn’t actually need. The king had refused, he never let any Crescentians set a foot in Aurora, and Seonghwa didn’t understand.

“Captain?” A voice asked from the other side of the door.

“Ah, Yeosang, come in.” A young man came into the cabin. “What do you need?”

“I… I wanted to talk to you, if I may. I want to be honest about the concerns of our crew, of our people.” He said, with a fairly shy voice. The captain nodded and gestured to a chair near him, where the younger sat.

“Captain, you know we respect you, and we know you’re fair and selfless with the crew, but lately some Crescentians have started to get sick. We think that it is because of the lack of fresh vegetables they consume. We know you wrote to the king…” Seonghwa frowned. Not that topic again, he was trying so hard to do his best and not declaring a war to Auroreans… “But we think that, maybe if you went to talk to him in person he would actually listen. He is human after all and has more resources than he needs anyway. You could take some of the sick Crescentians with you so that he sees that it isn’t a trick.”

Seonghwa sighed. He was tired of Hongjoong, of his unreasonable behavior. He was tired of seeing his people fall sick and seeing his crew growing desperate. He knew that the king wouldn’t listen to him, but understood Yeosang’s worries.

“Yeosang, thank you for being honest with me. I share your worries, and I swear I am doing my best trying to negotiate with the king. I don’t really think that meeting him in person is a good idea. He has always refused to let any Crescentian go to Aurora.”

“Yes, but you are a ruler, you can ask for an urgency meeting. He can’t deny a meeting when some population is in danger. And sickness is danger, after all.” Yeosang was worried, his sister had been sick for two weeks now, and he wanted to help her. Seonghwa looked to the younger. He knew he was right, he did. But deep down he thought that trying a meeting was a waste of time and that the stupid king wouldn’t care about anything or anyone. He was the king and had to coordinate some stuff among the five islands he ruled, but he had everything and everyone he loved in Aurora, so everyone else’s problems weren’t as urgent. Still, he was supposed to care about his people. All of the people under his commands as king.

“Okay. Let’s try this. I will send a letter to the king as soon as we arrive to Crescent.” Seonghwa said. _Although it is the worst idea we could try,_ he thought. But Yeosang smiled brightly at him.

“Thanks, Captain. And by the way, we’re nearly home.”

“Great.”

After Yeosang left his cabin, Seonghwa started to wander. He had been the ruler of Crescent for a year, so he hadn’t attend to an urgency meeting yet. He had never seen Hongjoong in person, he didn’t know what he sounded like, he just knew that he despised him and that he had to be polite and pleasant in order to achieve the help he needed. Granted, in an urgency meeting the rulers of the other islands would be there too, and he had good relationships with most of them. He hoped that they would have his back.

When they docked the ship in Crescent, Seonghwa jumped to the port and let Yeosang in charge. He had to send four letters, and quickly: one to Diamond, one to Violet, one to Dart and one to Aurora. He knew that three of the rulers would answer quickly and that they would most likely support him, but he wanted to explain the situation to them anyways.

After a few days, he had gotten three letters. The first one was from Jiu, ruler of Diamond, expressing her support. The second one was from Hyuna, ruler of Dart, where she made it clear that she was more than ready to send food to Crescent if the king didn’t help Seonghwa. The third one was from Hui, ruler of Violet. He had the biggest population out of the four minor islands, but he still offered his help to Crescent. Seonghwa smiled, he didn’t expect three positive letters, so this was a good sign. The only letter that was left was Hongjoong’s. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Please don't hesitate to leave some comments with your opinions♥


	2. Illusion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello there! I'm updating so soon because I had an idea last night. Hope you like this one!  
> Before you start reading, let me briefly explain. I talk about matelotage on this chapter. It is a kind of contract similar to marriage that the pirates had in the past. It almost always meant that there was some kind of inequality between the two partners, but in here I'm writing it as if in this AU it ended up being just a synonym of marriage, even though it isn't the truth. If you want to read more about it it is explained here: http://thepirateempire.blogspot.com/2013/07/gay-marriage-among-pirates.html

Hongjoong was bored. It’s not that he disliked being king or whatever. He liked being king, and captain and all that. He loved Aurora, he loved calling it “home” and he had his best friends on his side there, always ready to fight by his side or travel the Utopian Sea. It’s just that these past months they hadn’t been on many adventures and he was starting to believe that he knew every single part of the sea by now.

But then, he received a letter. One asking for an urgency meeting, no less. It was from that annoying ruler from Crescent. He hadn’t let Crescentians visit his island, because they were known to be way more violent than needed to be and he didn’t need that kind of negativity in his life. This time though, that Seonghwa person seemed pretty serious, and he couldn’t deny their request of an urgency meeting, so he wrote back and gave his permission for the urgency meeting to be celebrated in Aurora.

 _I hope I don’t regret this_ , he thought as he handed the letter to Jongho, who ran to the port to mail it that same day.

Three days after sending his letter, the Aurorean port was fuller than usual. The Diamondiards arrived first, as expected. They were just a few women to attend to the meeting. Jiu, the captain and ruler and her two most trusted pirates: Yoohyeon and Bora. They greeted the king and started wandering around the shore. They were the crew that Hongjoong liked the most, apart from his own, of course. 

A few hours later, two Violeters arrived to the port: Hui, the ruler, and Hyojong, his best counselor. They shared their ship with two Dartians: Hyuna, the ruler of the island and Somin, her right-hand woman. Few months back, Hyuna and Hyojong had gotten married, forming the first alliance among islands. Dartians and Violeters were some of the kindest people Hongjoong had ever met, and that was saying a lot, because Hongjoong knew everybody.

Well, nearly everybody. The last ship arrived that evening: the Crescentians were there, and so, Hongjoong was going to meet in person the new ruler of Crescent. He sighed and walked down to the port to receive his guests. Four men stepped down from the ship and introduced themselves: San, Wooyoung, Yeosang and Seonghwa. _Seonghwa looks like that?_ Hongjoong had expected an old man, but he seemed his age, more or less. He was taller than him and had wavy blond hair. _Stop staring you idiot_ , Hongjoongs said to himself.

“Welcome, Crescentians. My name is Hongjoong.” The four men seemed a bit confused and immediately bowed.

 _This tiny man is the king?_ Seonghwa thought, and examined the man in front of him. He was shorter than him, but had an intimidating appearance: fiery red hair, pointy nose and an eye patch. He looked young, and Seonghwa got suddenly fearful of what Hongjoong must have done to be king so young.

They followed the king and Seonghwa thanked the gods that San was so outgoing. San had started asking questions about the island to the king who, to Seonghwa’s surprise, started smiling at the younger and was very observant. He asked San about Wooyoung and about how long they had been together. A type of contract called _matelotage_ existed, it was similar to marriage but just between two men that were pirates. Initially it meant that one of the two was weaker or lower in the social scale, but with the years the word had lost that meaning and stayed as a synonym of marriage (in the Utopian Sea, at least).

“How did you know, your Majesty?” San asked, cheeks as red as the king’s hair.

“Ah, don’t call me that, please, call me Hongjoong. I noticed the way you look at each other, you look sweet together by the way.”

“Well, uhm, Hongjoong, we’ve been together for two years now, but we married this January.” Hongjoong smiled. “Can I ask… are you married?”

A tall blue haired man next to Hongjoong snorted.

“If anyone ever marries Hongjoong they’re just gonna see him the rare times when he emerges from his maps and books.”

“Yunho, shut up, or you’ll be beheaded.” The king said. There were two tense seconds before the two men started laughing.

Apparently Yunho was a good friend of the king. Seonghwa noticed he smiled way more when the man was around, and asked himself if anything was going on between the two. _Why would I even care? Focus, Seonghwa._

The rulers were guided to a room where they would have the meeting with the king, while their crews, or part of them, waited next door.

The meeting started as the protocol said, and the Seonghwa explained the issue. His proof was Wooyoung. He entered the room and showed the bruises on his skin, caused by iron deficiency, and handed him some reports of the sick people in Crescent.

“We didn’t want to risk bringing any of them here, because some of them are very sick and we don’t know how they’d handle the trip, even if it’s a short one.” Seonghwa said after Wooyoung left the room.

Hongjoong nodded and started reading the reports. Soon enough his face turned very serious. “This is a lot of people, Seonghwa. You’d need a lot of land to obtain all that food.”

“I think we wouldn’t need that much, Hongjoong.”

“It’s king to you.”

“But you said…”

“I said that to San. You’re a ruler, follow the protocol.”

Seonghwa breathed in deeply.

“Okay, _king_. I think we wouldn’t need a lot. Besides, we can pay with part of the spoils we have gathered these months.”

The rulers expressed their opinions and voted to help Crescent. The king was fed up. Seonghwa was losing his temper little by little, and he was there as a ruler, not as a pirate, he should behave. For that, he agreed to give them a part of the land, but it was less than what Seonghwa had asked for. Hongjoong ended the meeting, and the rulers were leaving one by one. The king sighed and massaged his temples. He was startled by Seonghwa staring at him, very close, when he opened his eyes.

“What the hell?” He screeched.

“You know you’re not being fair, Hong… your majesty.”

“You weren’t behaving, I can’t give everything that I’m asked to people who don’t respect authority.” He said standing up, and proceeded to leave the room. Seonghwa went past him and closed the door, blocking him.

“I can’t respect something that’s putting my people at risk. You have to understand that.” He crossed his arms across his chest. “You know I offered part of our profits, I can’t do more.”

“What do you want me to do, then? I can’t do more either.” The king said, getting bored of the conversation.

“I don’t know. I really need to help them. And we need a bit more of land for that. We can pay, I promise.”

“Listen, I don’t know you. You’re a new ruler. How am I supposed to trust you?” Hongjoong said, stepping closer to the man. He was tired of this, tired of Seonghwa and his stupidly beautiful face. _Wait, did I just think about that?_ Hongjoong gave a step back, shaking his head.

“I don’t know. I can do what I’m saying, please, give me a chance.” Seonghwa pleaded, trying to soften his expression. He knew the king wasn’t going to help if he kept pushing the mean profile. The king thought for a bit.

“Okay. I know what you can do. Come with me.” He opened the door and called for someone named Mingi.

A very tall man appeared soon after and Hongjoong asked him to bring them _the book._ Mingi guided them to a smaller room that was full of maps and papers written all over them, and gave a black book to the king.

Hongjoong told Seonghwa a story. _It sounds like a legend_ , the blond man thought. He told him about the Silver Sea and the Emerald Island, about a treasure that was mentioned in ancient books. If he could find it, Hongjoong would help Crescent.

“But what if this is just… a legend?” Seonghwa asked. Hongjoong’s expression hardened.

“It’s not. My family hasn’t been following invented leads for years for you to say that.”

“So me and my crew have to fulfill your weird family unfinished business in order to keep my people alive? Do you even realize how crazy you sound?” Seonghwa was angry.

Hongjoong stood up and pushed Seonghwa until his back was touching the wall.

“I’m not crazy. And you’re very bold to think that I’d let you do this alone. I don’t think you’re ready for it anyway. I’d send part of my crew with yours, to keep track.”

“Again, you’re not being fair, Hongjoong.” Seonghwa’s face got closer to Hongjoong’s.

“King! I’m your king.” The red haired man said.

“You’re not acting like one!” Seoghwa spat out.

Hongjoong felt those words sharp, hitting his skin, cutting through it. His authority had never been questioned by a stranger before, not one that he shouldn’t kill at least. If he told to get Seonghwa beheaded or whatever, he would face a riot, a war… Seonghwa was loved by many, and feared by just as many, or even more. He didn’t want another war now. His knuckles turned white from the pressure as he got even closer to Seonghwa’s face.

“Do you even know how to be a king?”

“I’m not interested. Can we go back to my request?” He sounded so calm now, it was getting on Hongjoong’s nerves.

“Are you considering mine?”

“It’s nearly impossible… I’d have to talk to my crew.”

“Very well then, you can leave for now and talk to them.”

Seonghwa left the room and met with his crew at the hall. He explained the situation to them, expecting the same outrage that he himself had felt a while before. But, to his surprise, Yeosang smiled.

“Just that? Tell him we can start in two days. Who do you think he will send with us?”

“What? Are you nuts? It can be a legend and we’d be following old tales while more people get sick!” Seonghwa was stressed. Way too stressed.

“Captain, I can’t say much but” he looked around and got closer to Seonghwa to whisper “my sister has a friend who knows about it. If we go back to Crescent she could tell us.”

“Are you completely sure about it?” Seonghwa trusted Yeosang with his life.

“Yes, Captain.” He said, seriously.

“Okay then. I’ll go talk to the king.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this one. Please don't hesitate to comment your thoughts ♥


	3. Treasure

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Just a little note, last chapter I wrote that Hyuna's right-hand woman was Sunmi, but shortly after I changed that for Somin, because I felt like Sunmi fits better a character from this chapter. Hope you enjoy!

_ People want it _

_ People dream about it _

_ It can be different to every individual _

_ It can complete us _

_ Or it can destroy us _

_ And it can change the world _

_ People call it 'treasure' _

After meeting again with Hongjoong the Crescentians parted again. Seonghwa was quite anxious about whoever would tell them this information they needed, but he trusted Yeosang. He did.

Yeosang guided them to his home, where his sister was still sick. He went to hug her and she smiled.

“How are you feeling?”

“I’m better. I assume your meeting went well?” She asked.

“Well, kind of.” Yeosang answered. “We need  _ her _ help.”

She eyed the crew cautiously and nodded.

“Okay, I’ll take you to her. Whatever you need, she can tell you, but you can never tell people you saw her, okay?” Seonghwa swore they’d protect this woman. He knew what it was like to be in danger for existing and, whoever this woman was, she could help them and he would always owe her the safety of his people.

She guided them deep into the forest until they reached the other side of the island, a small beach. The port was at the other corner of the island, so they weren’t used to go there.

“Hey, it’s me.” Yeosang’s sister said.

“You’re not alone.” A sweet voice answered, but they couldn’t see where it was coming from.

“No, these are my brother, who you already know, and his crew. They need you.”

“Can I trust them?”

“Yes, you can. I do too.” Yeosang’s sister was quick answering and Seonghwa smiled at how much she loved her little brother. It was necessary for him to help her and the others, they needed this.

A silver fog started flooding the shore. Few seconds later they saw a head peeking out of the water. Little by little, a woman was emerging from the water. They could see up until her waist, the rest of her body was still covered by the sea. She had pale skin and long black hair, with silver strands shining here and there. She was beautiful.

“Hello, I’m Sunmi.”

“Sunmi? I know everyone in this island, but how come I don’t know you?” Seonghwa asked.

“Well, there are a lot of things that you don’t know, Seonghwa. That’s why you’re here, isn’t it?” She said, and gestured them to sit in the sand. “What do you need?”

Seonghwa explained what was going on in Crescent and the meeting with Hongjoong, as well as his request. Sunmi frowned.

“His family has been looking for that treasure too? Weird… We never saw anyone. Well, okay. Since they left the Emerald Island centuries ago, I don’t mind you getting close to it. But you can’t say anything about me, have you understood?”

The crew nodded, but Seonghwa still had questions.

“What do you mean about not seeing anyone? That story is centuries old. And what do you mean by ‘we’?” Sunmi didn’t change her expression, but started moving instead. A long scaly tail peeked out from the water. A mermaid. Sunmi was a mermaid.

“I’m a little older than you guys, I know about Emerald Island because the woman I loved used to live there, hundreds of years ago. I haven’t gone there since the war ended with every human live there… Three centuries ago. But I know it’s still abandoned. That’s why I will explain to you how to get there.” She removed her silver necklace. “It’s a compass. It will guide you to a cave where you can access to the island. The treasure you’re looking for is buried under a purple tree.” She gave the compass to Seonghwa. “I only have one condition: once you go back, you have to give this back to me” and pointed to the compass.

The crew nodded in agreement, and Yeosang added “You’re safe with us, no one will know we saw you.” Sunmi smiled and hugged her friend.

After leaving, Seonghwa was feeling better, he was going to save Crescent after all. He was still a bit in shock about the fact that who helped them was an actual mermaid, but Sunmi was right, there were a lot of things he didn’t know.

The crew got ready and parted to Aurora a few days after meeting Sunmi, and when they arrived to the port they were surprised to find just four men waiting for them: Yunho, Mingi, Jongho and the king himself, Hongjoong.

“Good morning, your majesty” Seonghwa said much happier than the last time they had seen each other. Hongjoong seemed annoyed by that happy tone.

“Good morning. You’re late” he answered, but smiled to Wooyoung and San. Apparently the king was fond of the couple, and it was weird to Seonghwa how such a cold man could feel anything good for his crew. “So, are you ready to part?”

“Yes, we are. We have provisions and water, as well as some medicine in my ship. Since we are not so many, we can live with that.” The captain responded.

Hongjoong signaled to a few boxes behind Yunho “We gathered some food for the journey too, just in case, so we can share everything.” Seonghwa looked at him.

“We? Are you coming with us, your majesty?”

“Why do you sound surprised? I’ve been looking for this treasure most of my life, and I would never leave such an important task to a foreign crew, no offense.”

“Yeah but I thought that’s why you’d send your most trusted men. Who’s gonna be in charge?” Seonghwa was starting to feel anxious, he didn’t want to travel with the king for days, maybe weeks.

“That’s none of your business, is it Seonghwa? Now, let’s go, we don’t have any time to waste!” The king started walking to the Crescentians ship, but stopped suddenly when Seonghwa called his name.

“With due respect, you might be the king, but this is my ship, and my crew so I’m the one who orders when we’re sailing. Are we clear?” Hongjoong kept eye contact with him, and nodded slowly. Seonghwa was right, since they hadn’t rob Seonghwa’s ship nor had they fought his crew, Seonghwa was the captain, he was the king, sure, but just in Aurora.

The four Auroreans walked behind Seonghwa, whose crew was helping to carry the boxes with more provisions. And thus, the journey started.

Much to Seonghwa’s surprise, Yunho, Jongho and Mingi got along pretty well with his crew. They were polite, funny and loud. They clicked with Wooyoung and San, and Yeosang was often found laughing alongside Jongho. This made him really happy. His crew was like his family, and their wellbeing was a priority (even though he would never say this out loud).

The captain was tracing some symbols in his maps and taking notes, looking at his borrowed compass while Hongjoong wasn’t paying attention, changing the angle of the rudder every now and then. After lunch, he felt a soft knock against the door of his cabin. He didn’t expect the king to be there. And much less did he expect his encounter to be sort of peaceful. He expected him to storm in his cabin demanding to sleep there or more food for his crew, but no, he just wanted to thank him for accepting his request and his crew.

“You don’t have to thank me, I’m just doing this to help my people, your majesty.”

“I know, but still, you could’ve said no.”

“I’d do whatever it takes to protect Crescentians, so it was the only option.” Seonghwa said. Hongjoong eyed him, humming.

“I don’t know if you’re angry about me coming with your crew, but we don’t know each other. I hope you know that I can’t entirely trust you.”

“I understand. I hope you know that just because you’re the king I can’t trust you immediately either. Especially because you’re a king and a pirate, I can’t.” Seonghwa retorted.

“You’re a pirate, too. Should I consider the possibility of you killing my crew and stealing the treasure then?” Hongjoong asked and had the audacity to  _ smirk _ . God, Seonghwa hated that smirk.

“I mean, you could, but that’s way too much effort for this journey, don’t you think?” Seonghwa was trying to understand why the king was… joking? Was he joking with him? And then, he left him alone in his cabin.  _ What the hell? _

Seonghwa was very confused by the king: he looked tiny compared to him, but fiercer, no doubt. He knew he was smart and a skilled fighter, but he didn’t look as intimidating as stories said when he was smiling at Yunho, for example.

Few days had gone by, and they were entering the Silver Sea. When Hongjoong realized this, he smiled at Seonghwa, telling him that he thought they were close to the treasure. That was the first time Hongjoong smiled at him, genuinely. Seonghwa tried really hard to ignore the way his stomach flipped looking at that smile, blaming the sudden waves that welcomed them to a new sea.

The second night at the Silver Sea, it was Seonghwa’s turn to keep watch and drive the ship. He said goodnight to a very sleepy Yeosang and went to the rudder. It was a calm night, and the stars were reflecting beautifully on the sea, which looked actually silver. After a few hours, he saw Hongjoong going outside, sitting on the floor and starting to write.

The captain wasn’t sure of what the presence of the king made him feel. He didn’t get along with him very well, but he was intrigued by him. The past few days they had been arguing more than anything, but at some point he had accepted that arguing was just their way of communicating. He had realized that their arguments were less serious sometimes, and that could be considered more as teasing, as if they were starting to be friends annoying each other. But some days they argued screaming over how they should go one way or another, but Seonghwa couldn’t tell Hongjoong about Sunmi’s compass. So those days they just ended up tired of each other, and he was thankful that looks couldn’t kill.

For the following nights, Seonghwa had noticed that Hongjoong always went outside to write, so one night, he approached him, startling the red haired man, who was lost in his own little world.

“What the fuck are you doing Seonghwa!?” The king nearly screamed. Seonghwa couldn’t stop laughing at his startled face.

“What are you doing? Shouldn't you be sleeping?”

“What am I? 10?”

“I mean… you have the height.” Hongjoong punched his arm slightly, but laughed.

“You’re unbearable. I’m just a few months younger than you and you know it.”

“I know, I know. So, what are you doing?” Seonghwa asked, trying to read the last thing the king had written.

“It’s not for you to read. Stop being nosy.” The king said, covering his papers.

“Oh come on, what is it?”

“I… I like to write. About everything, about my journeys, fights, people I’ve met… You know, I like to remember things I’ve lived. I feel like I’ve been on so many adventures that I need to remember somehow. And that there are things that worry me, or that I feel that I can’t share because of the responsibility of being captain and king, you know?” Seonghwa nodded.

“Well, I’m not a king, but I can understand what you said. Does anyone ever read what you write?”   
“No, not yet at least. This is just for me, for now.”   
“Well, I know we’re not friends or whatever, but if instead of writing you feel like getting something off your chest, you can talk to me, your majesty.”   
“Thank you, Seonghwa, but how can I be sure that you’re not gonna use whatever I write against me? Huh?” He was joking again, smiling at the older.

“Why? Do you write about your love life? About your crushes?” Seonghwa wiggled his eyebrows and Hongjoong laughed.

“Nah, pirate king means loneliness… Wait I should write that.” Hongjoong scribbled on the first paper he saw, his tongue peaking out, and then smiled, proud of himself.  _ Cute, _ Seonghwa thought. And facepalmed internally for thinking Hongjoong was cute.

Two days after that talk, they finally saw it: Emerald Island. A very round Island, so filled with trees that it seemed like it was surrounded by a green hue. They docked the ship as soon as they could, and Hongjoong was shining with happiness. It was the first time they, or any crew alive, had reached Emerald Island in the past three hundred years.

Seonghwa guided them slowly, making a few mistakes on purpose so that no one could be suspicious of his knowledge. Until they finally reached a very old tree. It was filled with purple flowers, with long branches that reached the ground.

After some hours of digging they heard a dull thud, and carefully cleaned the surface of an old trunk.

“It’s real.” Hongjoong said, teary eyed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed. Don't hesitate to comment your thoughts about the story! ❤


	4. Twilight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello there! Sorry for taking so long to upload this chapter, writer's block came to visit and I couldn't figure how to continue. Hope you enjoy now that I could write this one!

“I can’t believe we’re finally achieving what my family has been looking for… It’s been a long journey…” Hongjoong said. Seonghwa looked at him, cautiously. The king had a few tears running down his cheeks, but he wiped them quickly.

“Your majesty… What do we do now?” Yeosang asked.

“Well, I think we should get the trunk out of the soil and explore the island. It’s not very big, and it looks like it’s been abandoned for years, so if there’s anything left, we’ll found it fast.”

“But, Hongjoong…” Seonghwa started, but saw him frowning. “Your majesty. You already have what you were looking for, shouldn’t we go back to our islands already?”   
Hongjoong snorted. “What kind of pirate are you, Seonghwa?”

“One who’s worried because his people are dying back at Crescent, you know, the usual.” He answered angrily, leaving the crew behind him.

Wooyoung ran after him, leaving a shocked king at the purple tree.

“Hey, hey! Captain!” Wooyoung yelled. “What are you doing?” Seonghwa turned back, looking at him as if he had gone crazy.

“We have to go back, people are still sick, you know? He already has the treasure he wanted, why would he want anything more?” Seonghwa’s hands were shaking, so Wooyoung approached him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Okay, I understand, maybe you should try to tell him that, but like… Less angry? I’m sure he will reconsider and we could go back.” He offered an apologetic smile.

Seonghwa inhaled deeply, and agreed.

The crew were sat on the ground, sharing their food, and Seonghwa gestured to the king to follow him. He explained why he was angry, _ as if Hongjoong needed a reminder, he just doesn’t care _ , he thought.

“Listen, Seonghwa. I do remember why we’re here. I do. I know this is an adventure for me and a way of payment to you. I thought that maybe you would want to get another valuable objects for you, your crew and stuff...”   
“Why? I told you, we could have payed for the land we’re asking for already. We don’t need more gold or anything. We need to go back. We came here because this is what you wanted.”

“Aren’t you a pirate, though? Don’t you like being out of the islands and seas you know?”

“Yes, but I’m also a ruler. I care for my people. What would you do if you were in my place? Would you spend more time here, knowing that your people are getting sick still, or would you go back as soon as possible to help?”

Hongjoong sighed. “Okay. We’ll get the treasure and go back. In the morning.”

Seonghwa clenched his jaw. “What?”

“The crew is tired. They should rest a bit…”   
“AND WHOSE FAULT IS THAT?” Seonghwa snapped. “We’re here to fulfill your family’s obsession. We could have payed for the land we needed and my people would’ve been getting better if you hadn’t been so focused on this nearly invented treasure!”

“Seonghwa…”   
“NO! I’m tired of all of this. You might be the king but this just shows how little you care about the people you have under your command!” Seonghwa had been walking to where Hongjoong was until he had his back pressed to a tree, and now they were mere centimeters apart. “You’re the king but this is my ship, and that is my crew, I’m the captain, so I say we’re leaving. Now.”

Hongjoong was hurt. He knew Seonghwa was kind of right, but he’d rather be dead than say that out loud. “Very well.” He felt his cheeks heat up when realizing the proximity of the other man, so he just pushed him a bit, to get away.

The crew took the trunk to the ship, and once all of them were there, they sailed. For the following nights, Hongjoong didn’t go out at night to write, not that Seonghwa cared. Not at all.

For the following days, Hongjoong didn’t bicker with Seonghwa.  _ This is right _ , Seonghwa said to himself, but somehow he wasn’t really convinced.

When they arrived to Aurora, the king hugged San and Wooyoung, and smiled softly at Yeosang, but when he faced Seonghwa, he just nodded.

And thus, the Crescentians had their part of land, which the crew started to work on.

Yunho, Mingi and Jongho started to take the food to Crescent once or twice a month, but Hongjoong never visited the island. He hadn’t spoken to Seonghwa since they arrived. He understood the other’s point of view but, why was he so upset then?

A few months passed by, and Hongjoong kept looking around at the port whenever the Crescentians were to arrive, but once he saw that no blonde man was coming, he left.

One night, Hongjoong keept shuffling in bed. He couldn’t sleep, and he hadn’t been feeling well for weeks. He got up to and decided to go to his library. He set some notes on his desk and starts noting the information of the last adventure on some maps, until he felt a soft knock on the door.

“It’s open.” The king says. It’s Yunho.

“What are you doing here? Do you have any idea of how late…? How early it is?” He says, looking through the window, where the sunlight is starting to filter.

“Yeah, I couldn’t sleep.”   
“You haven’t been sleeping for weeks, Hongjoong.”

“Being a king is hard?”

“You mean, since you met the Crescentians?” He inquired. Hongjoong felt his stomach flip.

“No, since forever. Go to bed, Yunho.” Yunho sighs, and leaves, not before hugging Hongjoong, despite the frown on the king’s face.

He hasn’t talked about Seonghwa in months, nor has he received any letter. He thought that maybe Seonghwa wasn’t so bad. They had fun talking at nights, when he was writing. He thought that maybe they could even be friends. The Crescentian had been very polite at first, and he made Hongjoong feel comfortable, even when they were bickering. He kind of missed that, if he was being honest.

But during the journey back to Aurora, he had realized that being the king meant that not everyone wanted his friendship. Many wanted just the help, the money, the land… But not his company, as confirmed by Seonghwa not approaching him after the fight.

He shouldn’t be upset, he had had many arguments and fights with many rulers and pirates, so Seonghwa’s case shouldn’t be any different. It was his fault that he got attached, that he thought there could be friendship where Seonghwa only saw an opportunity to help his people.

Hongjoong knew nothing about Crescentians more than rumors and legends. That they were cruel, that they were cold, that they were to never be trusted. He thought that those adjectives weren’t suitable to San, Wooyoung or Yeosang, Surely rumors were a distorted version of reality. Even Seonghwa had been kind of nice.  _ He hasn’t written, but neither have I. He may thought that I just cared about the treasure. Which I do, but I wanted to be with them for just one more day.  _ He thought to himself.  _ I hadn’t met new people in a while, maybe that’s why? _

He knew he was lying to himself, he did. He yawned. But that was a problem to awake Hongjoong.

The king went back to sleep, and didn’t tell anyone, not even Yunho, that his dreams were filled with the sound of Seonghwa’s laugh and an unidentified feeling remembering the dangerous proximity to the blonde man during their last argument.

One day, Mingi, Yunho and Jongho finally confronted him.

“You’ve been acting weird. For a while.” Jongho said.

“Don’t act as if we didn’t know. You’ve been weird since we arrived after finding the treasure in Emerald Island.” Mingi added.

“I have a lot to do, and this is stupid. I’m fine, I’m acting as I always do. So, if you don’t mind, I have to get back to work.”

“Hongjoong!” Yunho raised his voice. “This is enough. You’ve been isolating yourself more than you used to do. What the hell happened when Seonghwa asked to talk to you? You’ve been weird since then.”

“We argued. None of your business, the deal was made anyways. Are we done? I really need to go.”

The guys kept asking about it, so the king reluctantly explained what had happened.

“Listen, we know that since you were crowned you haven’t met many people, at least not many that you wanted to be around. You seemed to like Seonghwa’s company, though. Why don’t you write to him to see how the Crescentians are doing?” Jongho suggested.

“Why would I?”

“Because you miss him. Listen, Hongjoong, I know you well enough to know that you cared for him. I don’t know in which way, but you still do. And you’re losing an opportunity if you just let everything go to shit for an argument.” Yunho said.

Hongjoong whined. “I hate you.” And started to leave.

“You’re going to write him, yeah?” Mingi shouted, loud enough for the guards to hear and look confused to the king.

“Don’t mind him.” He said, and went up to his room.

He had tried to write a letter for hours now, not knowing that, on one of the neighbor islands, the blond ruler was going through the same.

Then, the king had an idea, so he parted to Crescent in a small ship, leaving a note to Yunho behind.

_ I’m so good with words for crowds and for myself but then I can’t write a shitty little letter for fucks sake. I have to put myself together. _

A few hours later he arrived to Crescent’s port, he was welcomed with some cold waves and the view of a beach with silvery sand.

And a very confused Seonghwa, too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so so much for waiting. Hope you liked this chapter. Don't hesitate on commenting! ❤


	5. Desire

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello there! Hope you enjoy this chapter and don't hate me too much for making you wait. I had some personal problems and couldn't bring myself to write. But I'm back!  
> And if you're reading this when I posted it: happy Halloween!

Seonghwa wasn’t expecting an Aurorean ship to arrive. To be honest, he didn’t remember when the Auroreans were supposed to bring food anyways, but he was sure that Hongjoong wasn’t the one who would bring it anyways.

Then why the hell was a known red haired man getting out of a ship at his port? He tried to ignore the sudden nervousness he felt. He didn’t want to think about whatever he was feeling.

Seonghwa approached the port.

“Hong… Your majesty, what are you doing here?”

Hongjoong tried to smile lightly at the blond man before him.

“Hello to you too, Seonghwa.”

“Hello? Are you gonna answer my question or…?”   
“Can’t a king see what the outcome of his deals are?”

“Are you trying to say you wanted to see if my people are doing better?” Seonghwa asked, still confused. Hongjoong sighed in defeat.

“Yes, I was curious about them, about their health. How is everybody doing?”

Seonghwa softened his expression. He was still confused, but in a good way.

“Why don’t you come and see for yourself?”

The king followed Seonghwa, trying not to show how tiring it was for him to follow the wide footsteps of the blond man.

Seonghwa showed the island to Hongjoong, introducing him to some Crescentians. The king wanted to slap himself for ever believing the rumors. Crescentians may be fierce when they have to fight, but when talking to Hongjoong they were nothing but kind. Some of them, unaware of the rulers’ conflict, even thanked him for his help. The king suppressed a laugh when he saw Seonghwa rolling his eyes.

After walking in silence for a while…   
“Are you really here to see them?”

“Why would I be here for then?” Hongjoong avoided making eye contact.

“Well… It’s been months and this is the first time you show up.”

“I was busy. Being a king is not the most forgiving job you know?” He sounded kind of harsh and smacked himself mentally for that. “I want to help. What can I do?”

“Wait, are you serious?” Seonghwa was very, very confused. The king had been giving him mixed signals and, deep down, he kinda wished that Hongjoong had said that he missed him, or something. Seeing that the king didn’t add anything, he guided him to the infirmary.

Seonghwa hadn’t expected the king to be kind after their argument, but then again, he hadn’t expected him to visit Crescent at all.

Hongjoong was very sweet while they were in the infirmary. He helped some old lady to clean her wounds and gave her some of the food that a very surprised San handed him. Afterwards he helped Wooyoung in the kitchen, preparing more food for the kids that were still sick. Seonghwa tried very hard to ignore the way his heart clenched when he heard Hongjoong talking about some recipe that Yunho had taught him.

After feeding some of the sick children, it started to rain, hard. So Seonghwa suggested Hongjoong that he stayed until it stopped, and guided him to his house.

Hongjoong looked around, intrigued by the blond man’s home.

“Do you live alone?”

“Yes. Why?”

“I don’t know, I thought you would be with someone by now.”

“As you said, being a ruler is kind of lonely.”

“That… Or maybe no one can stand you.” Hongjoong said, and when Seonghwa looked at him to ask what the hell was that for, he saw the king smiling. He was joking. He was joking with him again. The Crescentian felt relieved and tried not to smile.

“I could say the same about you, you know?”

They kept looking at each other trying not to laugh, but failed in the end.  _ I’ve missed this. _ Seonghwa thought. Well, he thought he had, but apparently he had said it out loud. He realized this when the king looked at him, still smiling.

“Me too.”

“Nah, you didn’t miss the bickering, you have friends for that.” Seonghwa tried very hard to not think about how Hongjoong usually joked around with Yunho.

“You’re right.”  _ I missed you. _ He couldn’t bring himself to say that. “But still, I missed this.” He offered him a small smile.

“I’m glad you came to Crescent, then. Do you want to eat something while we wait for the rain to stop?”

“Sure.”

Both men went into the tiny kitchen and tried to make enough stew for both and not burn anything.

Hongjoong was trying to open a sauce bottle and Seonghwa was laughing at him quietly.

“Can you not laugh at your king? It’s kind of disrespectful.”

“But it’s fun. Besides, you’re the king but also a guest. My guest. Shut up and give me that bottle, you’re gonna hurt yourself.”

Hongjoong started running around the kitchen, escaping from Seonghwa, who was following him, laughing out loud now. Hongjoong didn’t know he had nowhere else to escape when he got to the pantry, and was surprised to see Seonghwa just beside him when he turned around.

“Okay, that’s it, you lost. Give me the bottle now.” Seonghwa smiled and taking a step towards him, making the king’s back touch the wall.

“What bottle?” Hongjoong felt happy. He felt as when he was a kid and could play around. Until Seonghwa pressed his body against his, then he felt like his adult self who was suddenly very aware of the proximity of a very attractive man. He cursed himself because he was shaking a little bit. It had been a long time since he was this close to someone if he was being honest. Seonghwa was very beautiful, and was staring at the king with a smirk.

Seonghwa wasn’t doing any better. Truth to be told, he was aware that he may be crossing a line, but they were just playing around, right? It was fine until they locked eyes. Dang, Hongjoong was very pretty. He wasn’t wearing his eye patch now, and Seonghwa felt as if he was drowning is those dark eyes.

“Come on, Hongjoong, give me the bottle, we have to eat now.” He said, remembering why they were running around before.

Hongjoong pouted a bit.  _ Oh no, he’s cute too. _ And Seonghwa reached for the hand that was holding said bottle. The king tried to hide it behind himself, so when Seonghwa looked up to scold him, he realized that their faces were just a few centimeters away from each other.

“I’m your king, remember?” Hongjoong tried to sound like he was joking still, but his voice sounded a little strained.

“Whatever…” Seonghwa smiled, but he didn’t know what the king was thinking.

Hongjoong stood on his tiptoes and he would curse himself later for what he did: he kissed Seonghwa. It was just a small peck, it was nothing. But even then, both of them felt electricity going through their bodies. When Hongjoong looked at Seonghwa again, he realized what he had done, and his cheeks turned so red that they could almost blend with his hair.

But then, something even stranger happened.

Seonghwa kissed him again. He brought a hand to Hongjoong’s nape to hold him closer, and Hongjoong swallowed a gasp.

Hongjoong didn’t want to face the consequences of his actions, he didn’t want to think about what this meant, he didn’t want to think about how he had lied to his friends and hurt Seonghwa before. He didn’t want to process that he maybe had missed the Crescentian, and how he maybe felt something, even before the kiss. He had been hurt by people he liked before, and he didn’t want it to happen again.

But they had to breathe, so they broke apart for a second.

“Hongjoong…” Seonghwa said in a raspy voice that made Hongjoong’s head spin.

And then it hit him. He couldn’t do this. He wasn’t ready. He was supposed to be responsible, to have a cool head. He couldn’t feel anything for a ruler.

Hongjoong coughed a bit and told Seonghwa that it had stopped raining so he should be going back, he wasn’t supposed to be away for so long. And before Seonghwa could argue, Hongjoong was leaving, after whispering an apology that the blonde couldn’t understand.

When Seonghwa wasn’t in shock anymore, he ran to the port, just in time to wave to Hongjoong, not knowing what the other was thinking. When the ship was out of his sight he realized that it was still raining.

_ What the hell was that. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading. Don't hesitate to comment your thoughts ♡


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